Mobile Web Design
We are facing a major change in the way people access the internet, there is a major shift from desktop computers to smart phones and tablets.
Soon, mobile Internet users will outnumber people accessing the Internet from PCs
Issues for web design
- The screen size is really small
- Navigation is touch-based, not mouse-based
- Some technologies are not supported (ie. Flash on iphone)
Options for smaller organizations:
- Do nothing - your website will still display on the new devices (but the user experience is not great - too much zooming and scrolling plus your flash modules will not show on the ipad or iphone)
- Design apps for each device (too expensive - too many platforms and devices)
- Design one web site that adapts and responds to the size and functionality of the device
We chose number 3 as the preferred solution and use a technique called Responsive Web Design to ensure that your site is really useable on smaller mobile device.
How it works
- The website delivers content based on the size of the browser window
- For smaller devices, mutli-column layouts are converted to a single column layout that is easily readable
- Images are scaled to fit the viewable window and navigation is simplified to work with touch screen
- Flash content is replaced with the javascript that works on all devices
Click on the button below to see simulation of this website on a smartphone